Christmas: on the twelth night!

I am so sorry ... I forgot to post what we did on the 12th night (officially Epiphany, unless you live in the US, then the bishops have decided it isn't ...)

Anyway, here is the 12th night bread we made for this occasion and it is the BEST of the breads we've made like this:

Twelfth Night Bread: we got this recipe from Catholic Culture's website:
INGREDIENTS
1/2 tablespoon active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (105-115 degrees)
1/4 cup milk
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2-2 cups flour
2 egg yolks
unsalted butter, melted
confectioners' sugar

Filling: cinnamon sugar, 1/2 cup chopped nuts, 1/2 cup chopped mixed candied fruit

DIRECTIONS
1. Dissolve yeast in warm water. Set aside for 5 minutes. Heat milk, sugar, salt, and butter to warm (105-115 degrees).
2. Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, milk mixture, yeast mixture, and egg yolks in mixing bowl. Mix thoroughly.
3. Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth - about 10 minutes.
4. Place in greased bowl, turning to coat top. Cover; let rise in warm place until double - about 1 hour.
5. Punch down dough. Roll into rectangle 12 x 14 inches.
6. Spread with melted butter. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and with nuts and candied fruit.
7. Roll dough into rope about 11/2 inches across. Shape into a ring and seal ends together. Place on greased baking sheet.
8. Brush with melted butter. Cover; let rise again until almost double - about 45-60 minutes.
9. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven 30-45 minutes or until done.
10. Cool on wire rack. Dust with confectioners' sugar.

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I'm thinking this would work with any kind of filling -- and we'll try it tomorrow with diced apples and raisins and a bit of spice for an "ordinary" bread ....

I always get so sad when Epiphany comes around ... more so when Baptism of the Lord occurs ... as it means we have to put away the Christmas dishes, glasses, linenes and decorations and switch to "ordinary time" ... when our lives are always so far from ordinary!

Blessings to you all ... and do try this recipe for ANY occasion ... the dough is so good!